As more and more information content becomes available, more and more demands are placed on content providers to 1) provide users with access to the content; and 2) do so in a controlled manner to preserve security and to preserve their revenue stream. Today, some online sources of content (e.g., providers of streaming video) rely on their own servers for supplying the content, and on their own interfaces (e.g., Internet or web pages) for securing that content. However, as additional distribution entities come online, there is a need for more sophisticated and more secure content distribution authorization methods.